Presenters typically use hand-held remotes to control a camera of a videoconferencing system. However, a goal for videoconferencing is to produce a natural experience for participants. Therefore, it is not desirable to require the presenter or other participants to spend a great deal of time controlling the camera and handling complex input devices.
Some prior art techniques for camera tracking are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,844,599; 6,731,334, and 6,980,485. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,980,485 assigned to Polycom, Inc. discloses an automatic camera tracking technique that uses beamforming. In addition, Polycom offers a voice tracking system called Automatic Camera Positioning or ACP for its VSX videoconferencing system. Another prior art system uses color code-based tracking and vision analysis to track a target with a camera.
Although effective, some of the prior art systems can have limitations in some respects and can be difficult to maintain. In voice tracking, for example, the camera may point to a wall or a table from time to time due to reflection or other causes. In addition, the camera may not be able to track someone while moving if that person is not speaking. Furthermore, these prior art technique run into problems in situations where there are multiple voices or different color codes.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.